whoah. what about ginger? no ginger. I think I forgot to list the ginger I used.

Revision as of 17:58, 14 March 2010

Did you notice most rootbeer is caffeine free?
The goal here is to have fun brewing a non-alcoholic caffeinated rootbeer or ginger ale.
To that end we are making the first batches of a Noisebridge label yerba mate-niated rootbrew, gratis and DIY

Brought water to 90C, and added cold-rinsed yerba mate tea contained in polymesh teabag for 10 minutes of steeping time. Removed bag, and ran through a common coffee filter to remove sediment into the glass seltzer bottle. Added 50ml of cane sugar syrup and set aside to cool to room temperature. Capped bottle and left in fridge for 30 minutes to cool.

Result was mildly astringent, similar in flavor profile to Club-Mate but perhaps a bit sweeter. After adding CO2, the slight acidity of the soda countered the sweetness. When served from the selzer bottle, however, the soda was extremely foamy. May have to add an agent that makes the soda more tart, but without adding a flavor like lemon does.

Note (from Colin aka CatCubed): The foaminess is a result of the force seltzer bottle's nozzle. If you take the inner tube out of the seltzer bottle, you can then add the CO2 and just shake vigorously to carbonate. After letting it settle a bit, you can just open the bottle and pour out your new soda! Less foam and slightly bigger bubbles giving it a more soda mouthfeel.

Brewing at 90C may be too hot. Next pass should be done at 80C but still for 10 minutes.

adjustments for batch #2

Reduce yerba mate to 100ml by volume.

Reduce cane sugar syrup to 25ml

5g of fresh lemon zest (for tartness)

Added lemon zest to mate before steeping. Allowed 10 minutes of steeping time, followed procedure from earlier experiment.

Result is still mildly astringent, but sweetness profile is much closer to Club-Mate. Lemon flavor is not right, but not unpleasant, as a tartening agent. Using the seltzer bottle is not the right way to add carbonation, the resulting soda is still far too foamy. Transferred soda from seltzer bottle into clean 1 liter glass mineral water bottle then capped.

adjustments for batch #3-8

Lowered steeping time by one minutes per batch.

Result was batch 7 (5 minute steeping time) had a markedly less bitter flavor, while retaining a strong mate flavor profile.

adjustments for batch #9,10

Juice of one whole lemon (meyer)

Increased cane sugar syrup to 50ml

Increased fresh lemon zest to 10g

Steepting time reduced to 5min

Water temperature reduced to 80C

Result is a refreshingly tart drink without the bitterness present in previous batches. Similar to an 'Arnold Palmer' without all the sweetness.

Experiment Series #2

The need for some sort of coloration is somewhat evident. After 24 hours in the fridge, there is a marked coloration difference from when the drink was first bottled in Series #1. It has gone from a dark brown/green to a light green/yellow, possibly due to the acidity of the drink causing the chlorophyll or other components in the mate to act as an indicator dye. Either way, the addition of a caramel color or other dark colorant may be adviseable from a 'look and feel' perspective.